On Losing a Loved One

Have you ever noticed that when you find out the news, that a family member has passed away whom you had known very well, even if you hadn't seen/talked with them in a long while, that it brings all the memories crashing back, and inevitably, regret. Today I learned that my paternal grandmother had passed away on Tuesday. My father apparently did not feel it to be a momentous enough occasion to inform me or my other brother directly, even though he was present when she passed, for which I am glad, truly. However he informed my eldest brother and left it to him to pass the information along to the rest of us. A bit cowardly in my opinion, though perhaps, just maybe, he was overcome with grief and was not able to make those necessary calls. I honestly don't believe it really.

Family strife aside, I miss my grandmother. Even though I hadn't seen her in a decade. Even though I had made the decision a few years ago not to seek her out for reasons that, at the time, seemed viable. Even though she had dementia and would not have recognized me anyway (decade of years aside and all). Even though I had seen photos of her before and had (selfishly) thought that I would not wish to taint my memories of her as I remember with those of her as she had become. I look back through my childhood and remember her idiosyncrasies. I developed my strong feminist attitude because of her. The cedar Hope chest behind me came from her and my grandfather as my 'coming of age' gift at 13.

My grandmother died from breast cancer. Now, this might cause me alarm except that she developed it as a side effect of certain medications she took when she was younger. She was still cognitive when she was diagnosed, she refused to allow treatment. So we all knew it was a mere matter of time. In all honesty, she lived much longer than probably would have been expected, given her condition. She also lived with cirrhosis of the liver for nearly 3 decades. I can only barely remember when my grandmother could walk unassisted. But I remember how much she loved me, her only granddaughter for a long time.

No Waste

I'm a frugal person by my very nature, always have been. It was ingrained in me during years and years of struggling by my mother to make ends meet throughout my childhood. However, I sometimes wonder if I don't go to much more impressive extremes. For example, I purchased half a bushel of apples. The first half of that batch was made into applesauce, the cooked 'pulp' remaining after having been strained was given to the chickens. Tonight I went farther with the other half of that batch of apples. I had my eldest daughter help me peel and core the apples. Then I canned those sections in spiced syrup (got 5 qts too), but what to do with the peelings and cores?! It seemed like such a waste! All that lovely flavored peelings. So I cooked them down with a couple cups of water and ran them through an uber-fine mesh sieve. I not have 3 cups of the loveliest natural apple juice. I will add another cup later and make jelly with it! Still not quite finished though, because I also have the remaining paste-like pulp that is left after squeezing every possible drop of juice from it. I put that aside and tomorrow I plan on mixing in some whole oats. I'll bake those 'apple biscuits' on low for awhile and hopefully I will have home-made apple crisps to feed to the rabbits! I wouldn't want humans to consume them as they may contain whole stems and seeds as well. However, that accounts for every bit of the apples I purchased, with no waste whatsoever. And gives me 5 qts of canned apples, 3 pints apple jelly, and a couple dozen 'apple biscuits' for the livestock. Definitely a thumbs-up on this one!

A few other no-waste recipes I use include one for peaches and one for watermelon. The peaches you peel them and section them, canning the fruit itself in syrup, and then boil down the skin peelings to make peach honey! The watermelon recipe, you eat the pink part of the fruit (it's best to cut it off though LOL) then peel the green skin off and use the remaining part of the green rind to make watermelon rind preserves!

I have other methods to reduce waste. I have a dog that frequently clears most of any 'plate' leftovers from the children, not to mention her special usefulness in cleaning up toddler food messes. In addition I have a pair of rat boys who stay fat on leftovers and bones. Not to mention the compost pile!

Stray Dogs

After literally weeks of housing one small dog, I've finally managed to find him a permanent new and loving owner. Interestingly when I had the dog advertised as being free to a good home, I had just a couple inquiries. The moment I placed a re-homing fee on him, even though I didn't really care about the money, I had over half a dozen people wanting to see him. What actually prompted my adding the fee was the second person inquiring actually left me waiting in a hot car with a dog and two small children for 30 minutes. Then simply stopped returning my repeated requests to meet to see him.

I admit, I feel better knowing someone had to put out money to adopt the dog. Even though it was just a minimal fee. At least I know the new owner is willing to spend some money on him.

Next Year's Gardens, a reconsideration

I keep changing my mind on what and how I intend to setup the gardens for next year. So at the moment, these are what I want to plant:

In the main original garden I want:
green onions
garlic (soft-neck)
tomatoes (Roma, Better boy, Early girl, Sweet 100)
peppers (Bell, banana, jalapeno, habanero)
lettuce
chard
collards
spinach
radishes
kholrabi
beets
sunflowers

Behind the main garden, just in front of the barn I want to plant:
sweet white corn

In the second part of the main garden:
pie pumpkins
butternut squash
yellow squash
cucumbers (pickling and burpless)
watermelon
cantaloupe
sweet potatoes (though I may put these closer to the house)
beans (either Blue Lake bush or Tenderette, maybe both!)

In the raised garden:
spinach
strawberries
carrots

In the front herb gardens or herb pots:
lavender
sage
lemon balm
oregano
sweet basil
thyme
dill

Fruit trees/bushes:
apple (Golden delicious)
fig
blueberry
boysenberry
cherry
black raspberry (wild and thornless)
rhubarb
pear
peach/nectarine/plum

I will also be seeing about obtaining tapping equipment for my Maple trees and a couple of the neighbor's trees this next winter/spring.

Finding Homes for Strays

About a month ago my dear David took in a small stray dog, a Shih Tzu. Fine, I'll take care of it, no different than any other pet around here. Except it is different, these are high-maintenance dogs. He requires a weekly bath and will probably need monthly clippings to keep him neat. He must be walked no less than 3 times daily, because he refuses to defecate in the yard anywhere. He's not a nuisance barker, thankfully, but he shows mild aggression towards the younger children. That alone nixes his chances of staying with us permanently.

So far, I have advertised him available on Hoobly, Kijiji, and Craigslist. I've gotten numerous nibbles, but no one really serious until a couple days ago. A man looking for a companion for his mother. We e-mailed back and forth a bit and decided he would meet me with the dog earlier in the afternoon yesterday. I loaded up the freshly cleaned dog and my two youngest children and carted them off to the meeting place where we then proceeded to wait in vain for over 30 minutes. Half a dozen attempted calls later, I left and went home. I did hear from him, but as of right now I am not prepared to be magnanimous toward him.

Instead he has prompted me to change the ad to indicate that a small re-homing fee would now be required. If I'm going to be traveling all over only to be stood up by people, I feel that I should be compensated! I'm doing them a favor, not the other way round.

The Fall Garden

Yes, that's right. I am trying to keep things moving along with a fall/winter garden. I've never tried it before, but I'm in a good region to give it a shot. I've turned the soil and had planted 3 rows of leaf vegetables including collards, chard, and lettuce. The lettuce is being stingy, but the chard and collards have come through. A bit farther down I planted a row of radishes and broccoli. The radishes are flourishing, but the broccoli is being hesitant. I've also got some spinach, kholrabi, and carrots that are being slow to respond. I want to plant garlic, but since that grows best in a cool climate, I have to wait until later in the fall to plant it.

I think next year I'm going to turn a plot just in front of the barn and plant a section of corn. Some stray pieces spilled by the hens took root and put up stalks and developed ears! However, with them being sporadically sewn, they didn't do as well as perhaps some purposely planted seeds might. It's worth another try anyhow.

On Bacteria

Have you ever noticed that the worst bacteria all seem to be part of the Clostridium family? I mean think about it, C. perfringens is a bad one for causing bloat (and death) in goats and gangrene in people. C. tetani is one that causes lockjaw, even from something as simple as a vaccination (you push a metal tube into flesh, creating a deep wound). C. sordellii is involved in postpartum problems. There is C. difficile that cause problems in cattle. And finally, C. botulinum is a major cause of food poisoning for people. What do these have in common? The Clostridium bacteria is supposed to be an anaerobic bacteria! Meaning it only grows in the absence of oxygen. So why do they seem to be such major scary bacteria? Because they're DEADLY!!!

*sigh* I hate Clostridium, because C. botulinum is the major reason I cannot simply can my beans or corn or greens or meats. I have no pressure canner, and that means I have to freeze everything or pickle it. :/

Next Year's Gardens

I'm already planning for next year's gardens. Each year I change things around to find the best spot for growing certain plants, and add or take away ones that either did or didn't do well this year. So far, this is the plan for next year:

I'm planning on doubling the main garden next year, squashes and melons will be completely separated from low and tall crops since they have an unnerving habit of crossing over and strangling them. So 2 large gardens and a raised garden.

In the low/high garden I want the following: (top to bottom, or something like that)
tomatoes (half the garden, or at least 1/3) - Early girl, Better boy, Roma, & Sweet 100
Peppers (chunks, two chunks of 2-3 rows each) - Banana, Green, Habanero, Jalapeno

Then in rows:
green onions
cabbage
kholrabi (early spring and fall)
lettuce - Romaine and leaf (early spring and fall)
radish (early spring and fall)
broccoli (early spring and fall)
swiss chard
collards
garlic (probably softneck)
beans (sigh, yes I will try for a 3rd year in a row)

Then in the squash side of things I want to plant:
cucumbers (burpless and another kind)
yellow squash
watermelon (4th year attempt)
pumpkins (sweet pie variety)
butternut squash
cantaloupe

In the raised garden I'll likely plant:
spinach
carrots

I'd like to try and find more blueberry bushes to add next year. And I have some apple and grape seeds planted, so I'll see if I can get them to germinate and grow a little. I'd also like to plant some of the peach seeds I have and perhaps an avocado.

Canning Peaches

First, just throw out and ignore every single video tutorial out there on the 'net trying to show how 'easy' it is to blanch peaches for canning or jam. It just simply does. not. work. Especially if the peaches you have are not quite completely ripe, and sometimes not even then. I was treading a fine line between ripe and rot and I still could not get those skins to slip off as they were supposed to do. I finally ignored the blanching aspect and just peeled them. Sadly it wasn't until I had tossed the peelings out for the chickens that I found a recipe that uses the peelings to make peach honey.

There are a few things that can be done with peaches, the first is to can them in a medium syrup. I made 2 different kinds, the first with honey and the second with just sugar. Both turned out nicely. I suppose you could also add a spice bag with a cinnamon stick, some cloves, and allspice to the boiling syrup for spiced peaches, and I may try that with a second batch. I also made a batch of spiced peach jam which turned out nicely.

I also discovered a good use for the leftover 'syrup' in the pot. By adding some maple flavoring and a little brown sugar, it became maple syrup. Thus any waste at all was completely eliminated!

Billi's Best Spiced Applesauce

Since the applesauce recipe I found is kind of on the vague side, I thought I'd post one here that I've created that works out great every time (I've made several batches with it so far and they're wonderful every time). Here goes, you'll need:

1/4 bushel whole, fresh apples (don't ask me about weight, I rarely measure)
2 Large stock pots, at least 12 qt size
2.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1.5 C sugar
2 qt water

1. Wash and quarter the apples, don't skin or core them
2. Fill one of the stock pots to the brim with the apple quarters
3. Add 2 qts of water
4. Cover and cook at about medium or med-low until the apples have cooked down and are soft. Careful they don't boil over. Periodically push the top apples down with a flat wooden spatula and try to shift the ones on the bottom around so they don't stick
5. Pour softened apples (may look like a really thick applesauce at this point) into a food mill over top the second pot to remove skins and seeds.
6. Add 1.5 C sugar (if using a sweeter apple, this may not be necessary, I used a combination and they were slightly bitter, the sugar eliminates that bitterness)
7. Add 1 tsp nutmeg and 2.5 tsp cinnamon
8. Heat sauce to boiling, stirring constantly as it will tend to stick rapidly if you are inattentive.
   
9. Once boil has been achieved, reduce heat to keep sauce at a simmer, cook for 5 minutes.
10. Ladle sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Process 20 minutes in a boiling canner.

Sauce may also be enjoyed hot right from the pot!

Ready for the first week of School

I have my first school week for Aydi planned out. I have the basics for the next 30 weeks (a letter a week, plus review weeks) laid out, but didn't want to get too detailed until I figure out how everything goes. I went so far as to actually map out the days, trying to stay general so that we can adapt as needed. I'm trying to stay loose and easy. The main goal is for her to learn 5 new things a week and review them every few weeks.

I may be being too optimistic at this point, but I have high hopes. She will be in 'school' from 8 in the morning until 2:30 or 3 in the afternoon. If that seems a little too strenuous for a nearly-4-year-old I just remind myself that kids do this very same type of scheduled day all the time in actual preschool. She will have lots of fun time, crafts, play, and even free time. The special catch is that she will be learning while she plays, colors, draws, and sings.

I admit, I'm having fun with this too.

Creating a Harvester-Friendly Basement

The biggest problem with my half-basement is that it tends to get damp whenever it rains. In a very hard rain there might even be water on the floor. Not much usually, so I tend to just keep anything damageable off the floor. However, I recently (last summer) cleaned out most of the accumulated junk in the basement and then this past winter I did a little more. Now I keep thinking it would be an ideal place, if arranged properly, to set it up as a gardener/harvester basement. You know, clear out more of the junk and set up decent shelves for storage. Maybe setup a few top shelves with fluorescent lighting to grow seedlings down there in early spring. There's a spare stove already down there, I might see if I can get it cleaned up and hooked up, if it works, it would make a great canning stove, since I have discovered that canning tends to ruin a stove's top fairly quickly. It would be nice to have. Perhaps in a few week-ends, when things quiet down a little and the children settle into their school routines I'll have the time for a project like that.

On making Applesauce

Whew! Lesson learned, when they say "add just enough water to prevent sticking" they mean add just enough water to prevent sticking! Now I have to slowly boil off the excess. The problem is that it's difficult, as the apples soften, to keep them from sticking anyway. In spite of that, however, the first batch tastes great, second batch is in the pot ready for boiling and spicing, third batch is still whole, final portion will likely remain as apples for the kids.

I have to say though, it is cinnamon and a little nutmeg (having had a very bad experience with nutmeg, I am understandably cautious about it's usage), that really takes an applesauce from being mediocre to being sublime.

Apples and Peaches, Oh my!

Today I purchased a bushel of apples (approximately 35 lbs) and a half-bushel of peaches (approximately 15 lbs). I'm working on spiced applesauce, spiced peach jam, and canned peaches. It's an interesting venture, to be sure. I have discovered that while I didn't really have the patience for preserving when I was younger, I truly enjoy doing it now. It's fun to watch things take shape. And knowing we'll be literally enjoying the fruits of my labor this coming winter is an added bonus!

Fall/Winter Crops

Yep! It's that time of the year. A lot of the spring and summer crops have been harvested and either eaten or preserved and stored. Spring and summer fruits are likewise put up. Now is the time to re-till parts of the garden, pulling up the dying vines and stalks, and plant my fall and winter crops. On the agenda this season will be swiss chard, collards, carrots, broccoli, lettuce (maybe), radishes, and kholrabi.

The sunflower seeds are ready to be harvested and tomatoes are still giving fruit, though it won't be long until those will come out. We have one very nice looking pumpkin just turning orange and at least half a dozen NICE looking butternut squash. I purchased a bushel of apples and half a bushel of peaches to put up. Next week I may break down and buy half a bushel of beans to put up. I would like to have a variety of veggies and jams available this winter. The yams are growing well, however since they were a late addition to the garden, I'm giving them at least another month of growing time.

Next year I'm planning on turning over 2 large sections of the back of the garden and putting the melons, squashes, and cukes over there. The vines are just too invasive for me to like having them on the east side of the lot. And it gives me more room. Half a plot of tomatoes is good, I like having 2 rows of sunflowers. I may add some corn next year, the kids like it and several stalks came up this year anyway.

Inventing Games

I find it interesting that more families don't do this very thing. I am working at my PC and outside I can hear my older children playing the game we invented called Freeze-Go, which when played correctly and with some pizazz is a ton of fun, and it makes me wonder how many of the 'other' children playing outside will pass this game along to their children someday. My point however isn't the game itself, but the concept. Most of our games are intellectual these days, though not all of them have been, a few were created purely for the fun of it! Freeze-go is the most frequently played. I've also invented games for when they were little as ways to get my children to mind me, games such as the Quiet game and Stay-in-Your-Square for when we were out in public. In the car on long rides we play Tell-the-Truth, I-Spy, Spell-It, or mental math games. In a living room it's the Pick-a-Letter-Name game. Not all of these games have actual names, the only one we refer to is Freeze-Go. All the rest are usually made up on the fly, creating rules where necessary.

You know you've made it as a concept designer when...

Someone actually makes 3 movies about your concept, then someone goes and makes a spoof movie about the 3 movies.

Gotta love Vampires Suck as the spoof on Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse. I think it's fair to say Stephanie Meyer can be proud of her mini-empire.

Preschool Curriculum

Here I sit... at 1 in the morning... trying to settle on a curriculum for my preschooler. Of course, being the kind of person that doesn't believe that any one way is the right way, I have to go and create my own as a sort of amalgam of a variety of different ones. And what I've learned so far... is that there is an awful lot of stuff to teach these little people! How in the world do kindergarten teachers manage to get everything entrenched in them in just 9 short months?!?! I mean, just looking at true basics, not even taking anything else into consideration, there are 26 upper case and 26 lower case letters. Each letter generally has more than one sound. So to ease reading, they ought to learn the phonetics of each letter, to ease writing they need to learn each letter's look. For lack of time I may have to combine upper AND lower (which I don't really want to do) simply because we would still be at them next summer! The phonetics are harder, I really hesitate to put multiple sounds together in the same week. So for Aa, it'll start with the short sound (apple), but then I'm stumped, should I spend 2 weeks on Aa so that the second she can learn about airplanes?! And for C I was going to use cow or cat, but I don't want to confuse her when we get to kitten (hard C and soft C). Do I start her later in the year on double consonants ch and th or hold that until she's actually in kindergarten, because I really don't remember if that's taught in preschool or not!

You see?! Something that ought to be simple or intuitive is NOT. My respect for teachers has just shot up about a thousand-fold! Because in with the alphabet I have to teach her about colors, shapes, numbers, body parts, music, animals, crafts, and so many more things. I'm exhausted and I've just started trying to put together an overview! I haven't even gotten to specifics yet. Take pity on me. LOL

A new adventure: Homeschooled Preschool!

That's right, I have decided I will not allow my preschooler to fall behind other children her age. And while I am running a bit short on planning time, I'm going to start with a pre-set arrangement (in other words, a curriculum already written out) for the first week to give me some breathing room. My current plan is also to speak with the school she'll be attending to find out what skills they would expect the average kindergartner to possess. Then I will base my teachings on those expectations.

The most important aspects for preschool, in my personal opinion, are reading and writing (alphabet and name), counting, pattern recognition, shape, color, and basic animal recognition, art (crafts), music (singing and perhaps the piano), dexterity, physical capability, and expanded life skills. The most important thing for her though will be to have a structured day. However, it might sound simpler than it really will be since there is a wild card in all of this... the toddler. That's right! A barely toddling, into everything, make-a-mess-in-2-seconds-when-you-aren't-looking little brother! Of all those I've asked about it, no one I know has tried teaching a preschooler with a toddler underfoot. So if nothing else, this should be a true adventure. Most important for me will be to try and keep the television to an absolute minimum. For, while she does watch educational shows, they can't teach her everything I want her to learn. I will have to stay on track as much as possible. She will begin next Tuesday, when her sisters start their school.